The Galactic War: Rogue Element ~The Beginning

[Chad32]

Claxter laughed. "Why would Prince Ossanlin kill you? That's ridiculous. I realize you don't trust us, but we are all in the same metaphorical ship. If we just work together instead of against each other, we'll all be better off."

"We invented morphing, so I see no problem with us using it from time to time. Sure Humans don't have stalk eyes or natural weapons. Weapons. Ponssss. Human bodies can still be fun. I mean, you obviously enjoy yours. We can enjoy these bodies together."

[Myitt]

Niko's first inclination that something is wrong starts to dawn when Enorryma rushes past him towards Tess' room.

He picks up his pace, reaching the quarters, breathless. The room is too much of a rush of activity for him to step inside, but his heart hammers in his throat when he hears Chris mention something about 'not breathing'.

Niko leans in, feeling utterly helpless, his expression gaunt.

"Please, tell me what I can do?" he asks Enorryma tentatively, wincing at the sound of the wailing, and very much alive, second baby.


<<I suppose we should wake up,>> Lanath sighs, pulling Aya slowly to her feet and rubbing at her eyes. <<I am anxious to see what has happened with the children, and to see how Tess is faring.>>

In spite of his anxiety, he slowly tugs on Aya's boots, feeling as though they are moving through a fog.


Myitt puts an arm around Terenia's shoulders. "Food makes anyone feel better, right?" she offers quietly as they walk. "Hell, I'm so hungry I could probably gnaw on some Andalite grass right about now." Her smile fades a little in the wake of Terenia's depressed state.

[Estelore]

Enorryma blinks at Niko's sudden appearance, then turns her stalk eyes back toward the cradle. <<Please verify that the other child is uninjured, and then find the Captain and inform him that it appears one of the young ones did not survive the night. If you encounter others of your group along the way, also let them know: it would be wiser that the news come from their own people, and not from and Andalite, I suspect.>>

Norry used the wall monitor to send Ossanlin a memo of her location.

[Myitt]

Niko nods, apprehensive.

"It sounds like he's alright," he breathes, completely out of his element, unsure whether he should wait for Chris and Tess' approval. "I'll bring Ossanlin here, and tell him the...the news."

He doesn't pause to offer condolences, rushing from the room.

Yarin, he thinks, I wish you were here to help guide me through this.

[KitsuneMarie]

Tess takes the tiny, blond child into her arms, tears leaking out of her eyes as she feels how cold and still he is. "Chris," she whispers, voice breaking. She squeezes her eyes shut as she holds the body close to her chest, crying openly now. It is clear she doesn't give a damn about who sees her--and nor is she even truly aware of who is and who isn't in the room with her, beyond her mate.

"I can't believe this," she whispers when she finally comes up for air, staring incredulously at Chris and Keslin through wet eyes. "He was... they were both fine. Oh god... how could this happen?"


Illim nods to Myitt. "Did Ossanlin tell you where the food for us would be?" he asks as he follows the two women. "Hell, I don't even know what there is to eat besides all that protein we brought on board yesterday."

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Ossanlin's ARC gives him a warning that someone had sent him a message.  He commands it to display in his holo-emitter.  A thin, translucent blue film bathes Ossanlin's right eye as it projects the HUD hologram.  The message seems to be from Enorryma, merely stating that she's still in quarters with Tess and Keslin.  Ossanlin sighs and takes another quick drink from the stream, noting Claxter trying again with Efaen, but being in human form himself.  Perhaps he'd eventually get through to her.  No matter what has happened, she's an Andalite, and Ossanlin intends to make her see it.

He nods to himself before turning toward the quarters he'd assigned to the gravid female and her mates.  His intention is merely to greet Enorryma as he assumes that she'll be joining him shortly.  There's still a bit of time before the "day shift" is due to take over the bridge.




Varekil moves to examine the baby as the female clutches him closely, but he can see clearly how still the infant is.  The records on the mobile medical scanner indicate that his heart had stopped more than an hour earlier.  There's very little likelihood that the infant could still retain life.

<I am...sorry.  The scanner is not adapted to be able to detect human neural activity but...the logs say that the heart...ceased...mo re than a standard hour ago...>  Varekil pauses, unsure how to say anything without causing pain or offense.  He's just a field medic, not used to having to deliver news to survivors...let alone humans.  <There is little chance that neural...activity.. .can be reinstated.>

<I...well...the other infant appears healthy and stable...>  His own words sound hollow, as both had appeared healthy and stable for over an hour the night before.  Varekil gives Enorryma a helpless look, not knowing what to do.

[Terenia]

"It has nothing to do with trust," Efaen says, reaching down and picking a blade of grass. She rolls it between her thumb and forefinger, inspecting it. "I am a liability. As long as I am alive, people here will die."


Chris is dumbfounded beside Tess, his eyes on the child, a tremor running through his body. His pale, freckled expression flushes, and he squeezes his eyes shut.

<<Too much. This is too damn much,>> he whispers to Keslin, covering his mouth with one hand, but unable to prevent the sob that rips free of his throat. He barely hears the Andalite medic as he tells them what they already know, trying to push back the words that impress themselves on his mind. By the time Varekil finishes speaking he is shaking violently with angry, helpless tears, not caring who sees the leader of the pirate rebellion broken.

It is finally the sharp, ceaseless squalling of the surviving child that snaps Chris out of it enough to move. He crosses the room, looking down at the tiny creature through eyes that are clouded with tears. As gently as he can, he reaches down and lifts the child, holding him to his chest, one hand supporting his bottom, the other his head.

<<Chris, you are shaking,>> Keslin says worriedly. He balks for a moment, then slides into control. The head-to-toe trembling of his host calms somewhat. His hands still shake, but the remnants of Keslin's withdrawal are more manageable than Chris' emotional breakdown.

Still crying, forcing his host's body to maintain some semblance of calm, Keslin crosses the room, back to Tess. He watches the baby as he moves, unable to help his fascination with the small being that he had some part in bringing into this world, however small. The child's crying quiets somewhat, and it blinks up at him.

"Tess," he says, his voice gravelly from tears, grief-stricken and a little awed." He glances over at her, still clinging to the dead child. "Tess, I think he needs you."


<<We should get food too,>> Aya murmurs. <<I'm starving. But Tess first, I agree.>> She hesitates, then adds, <<Lanath, are we going to be okay? These Andalites...you've worked with their kind before...do you trust them?>>

[Chad32]

Claxter thought about what she might mean. It didn't seem like she was going to purposefully undermine their efforts. How else would she be a liability? Then it occured to him that the chip Ossanlin put in her could be tracked. He had forgotten about it until just now, and wondered if Ossanlin remembered. Was she told about the chip, or was she actually starting to remember her past?

"It's about the chip, isn't it? It was meant to help keep you safe, but I suppose now it would allow you to be tracked. I'm sure Prince Ossanlin will find a way through this. He would have known the risk before letting you aboard, and if he still feels the risk is worth the reward, he must have some way of neutralizing it."

He edged a bit closer to Efaen. "We're here for you. I'm here for you. This is about trust. Hope and trust are the main things we have to cling to right now."

[Estelore]

Enorryma turns her stalk eyes to Varekil. <<Thank you for your prompt arrival and your efforts. If possible, find out from one of the other humans what the funereal treatment is for human infants, so that we can begin making appropriate arrangements when the parents are ready. Beyond that, you are dismissed to return to your post.>>

She looks back toward the cradle, her main eyes still on the broken little family. <<You did good work, Varekil. These beings just have very fragile young. I will reset the sleeping unit to give vital readouts suitable for a human.>>

She turns toward the cradle and starts adjusting the settings, beginning with installing an alarm for any major change to the single heartbeat.

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

<<I...I don't...I just...>>  He falls silent, mastering himself, and turns toward Enorryma, bowing his head.  <<Yes, Prince-Commander...thank you.>>  He turns and trots through the door, clearly shaken.  He begins seeking out humans in the Dome, and notices Claxter and Efaen not far away.  He approaches them slowly, not wanting to come off as intimidating, clearly thinking that both are human controllers.

<Excuse me...I...um...I apologize for intruding but I need to know...Well, I am Warrior Varekil-Enkat-Furis.  Are either of you familiar with specific human cultural practices?>

[Terenia]

Claxter's sincerity surprises Efaen, and reluctantly she pulls her gaze away from the blade of grass to look at him directly.

"It isn't that simple," she says, deciding that perhaps she owes this Andalite, who is certainly trying, an explanation instead of a dismissal. "The tracking device only becomes inoperable if I die. As long as I'm alive, it's active."

She looks up at the arrival of an unknown Andalite, her expression immediately closing off again. "I know some human cultural practices," she says, eyeing him, speaking a little defensively. "Why?"

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Varekil glances between Efaen and Claxter, and feels as if he's intruded more than he thought.  Uncomfortable, he shuffles a hoof.  <I...I am sorry, you are obviously engrossed in a conversation...I will seek others.  Please forgive the intrusion...>  He backs away, uncertain where else to go.  He doesn't see any other humans in the Dome, so he makes his way toward the center, taking in a few nutrients along the way.

[Chad32]

"It's all right, Varekil. Come back." Claxter said, taking a more cordial tone. <I'm afraid we're both Andalites, though Efaen has spent time with Humans. Is there a problem?>

The issue of how to get the tracking device out of Efaen was a heavy one, but he felt it may be best to resume after helping Varekil. Perhaps he would talk to Ossanlin about it. He certainly has little information about the device.

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Varekil pauses in his stride, recognizing Claxter's thought-speech voice.  He glances over at the female...Warrior Efaen.  He approaches again, bowing his head to Claxter, acknowledging the other male's greater rank.  <Command Warrior, I apologize for disturbing you.>  He nods to Efaen.  <Warrior Efaen, it is good to see you back aboard the Tyrennian.>

<I...I have been ordered by Prince-Commander Enorryma to inquire one of the humans about human...funereal... practices.  Particularly those which might pertain to infants.>  Varekil drops his main eyes to the grass, still feeling that the death of the human child had been his fault.

[Chad32]

Claxter was stunned by the statement. <One of them didn't make it?> He said. Hopefully it was just one, and not both. Tess surely didn't deserve such a tragedy. Though even one loss that could have been prevented with proper medical attention was a tragedy. <That is depressing news. Justice will be brought against her captors for this.> He waited to see if Efaen knew anything about tending to the dead before trying to find someone else, but this hopefully wasn't something she knew too well.